The Fallacy of Degrowth: Why Economic Growth Is Essential for Sustainable Progress
The Degrowth movement's prescriptions of dismissing economic growth and advocating for a voluntary reduction in resource use is an unrealistic and ineffective solution to the climate crisis
The Facts:
For over 200 years, there has been a continuous parade of individuals and organizations warning that population growth will outstrip the Earth's capacity to produce resources, leading to a dire outcome for humanity. Beginning with Thomas Malthus who argued over 200 years ago that population growth would outstrip the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man. In the 1970's, with the work of economist Herman Daly, this morphed into the argument that economic growth should be resisted to protect the environment.
Today, proponents of neo-Malthusianism have rebranded themselves as Degrowth advocates. The degrowth movement calls for abandoning GDP growth as a goal, reducing energy and material use, and focusing economic activity on human well-being. Degrowth is premised on the idea that "the system" is to blame for the climate crisis and that the solution is to abolish capitalism, rejecting incremental progress as a way to defend the current system. Degrowth calls for actively shrinking rich economies and transferring resources to the Global South, which would be a political non-starter as countries become less generous when fewer resources are available. Degrowth relies on the belief in a moral awakening and the assumption that people will rapidly embrace an ascetic lifestyle, which is an unrealistic wager.
The concept of degrowth has recently gained attention among academics, activists, and politicians, particularly in rich countries, who are concerned about environmental sustainability and socioeconomic justice. This movement now includes figures such as progressive journalist Naomi Klein, activist Greta Thunberg, and Pope Francis. With even universities now offering master's degrees in degrowth.
However, the degrowth movement ignores the lessons of history. For centuries, the world experienced little to no economic growth, a period characterized by conquest, subjugation, and zero-sum thinking. It was only in the past two centuries that unprecedented economic growth liberated much of humanity from misery and dramatically improved health and well-being. Ingenuity and innovation have repeatedly empowered humanity to overcome ecological constraints. Furthermore, the degrowth prescription would do little to address climate change. Even if economic growth were halted, the world would still miss its 2050 target for net-zero emissions by a significant margin. Cutting emissions to safer levels would require inducing deep recessions that would severely damage the global economy and cut world GDP per capita by about 5% per year, which is more than the loss during the 2008-2009 Great Recession. In contrast, addressing climate change will require massive investment in green energy infrastructure and clean technologies – in other words, growth and innovation. The Energy Information Administration estimates that in a world of fast economic growth, each dollar of GDP will require 13% less energy than in a world of slower growth. Instead of trying to halt growth, the focus should be on redefining and reorienting growth patterns toward sustainability, using technological advances, renewable energy, and a shift toward a circular economy.
Degrowth's prophets offer little more than hand-waving in response to questions about their prescription, and most degrowthers were born in already-rich societies. The prescription that economic growth must stop is as wrong as Malthus' prediction that a growing population would outstrip the Earth's capacity to produce food. The political obstacles facing the degrowth movement are insurmountable, and its newfound prominence is expected to be ephemeral, with the movement's main contribution being to modestly mitigate the effects of climate change.
The View:
The prescriptions of the degrowth movement are not only politically impractical but would also impede progress on climate policy. The belief that "the system" is to blame for the climate crisis and that abolishing capitalism is the solution is misguided. The movement's call for actively shrinking rich economies and transferring resources to the Global South would be a political non-starter, as countries tend to become less generous when fewer resources are available. Moreover, relying on a "moral awakening" among the public is unrealistic, given the long history of religious teachings on moderation having little impact on consumption patterns.
Betting on the moral improvement of humankind to embrace an ascetic lifestyle is a poor wager. History has shown that calls for moderation have not tamed the relentless drive for consumption. The idea that a swift change of heart among the rich would make degrowth politically feasible is unrealistic, given the backlash against the current pace of climate action.
Furthermore, Degrowthers ignore the historical lessons that the world experienced no growth for centuries and that economic growth has liberated much of humanity from misery and drastically improved health and well-being. Growth has built a world where one person's gain does not require another's loss and has made consensual politics and democracy possible. These are crucial considerations that the degrowth movement fails to account for.
Ultimately, avoiding a climate catastrophe requires a multifaceted strategy comprising multiple solutions, but degrowth is not one of them.
TLDR:
The degrowth movement's call for abandoning GDP growth, reducing energy and material use, and focusing on human well-being is not politically feasible or effective in addressing climate change.
The belief that "the system" is to blame for the climate crisis and that abolishing capitalism is the solution is misguided.
Relying on a "moral awakening" among the public to embrace an ascetic lifestyle is an unrealistic wager, as history has shown that calls for moderation have not tamed the relentless drive for consumption.
The degrowth movement ignores the historical lessons that the world experienced no growth for centuries and that economic growth has liberated much of humanity from misery and drastically improved health and well-being.
Addressing climate change requires a multifaceted strategy that includes massive investment in green energy infrastructure, clean technologies, and a shift toward a circular economy, rather than simply halting economic growth.
Growth and innovation are crucial in overcoming ecological constraints and achieving environmental sustainability.